Operation Black Vote draws our attention to a new play at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham: http://www.charlesthelastblacksoldier.djmrp.com/
Entitled The Last Black Soldier Of World War One!! the theme is the involvement of BME people in the Great War (a subject also referred to by the thinktank British Future in their paper on the commemoration of the Great War http://www.britishfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BRF_Declaration-of-war-report_P2_Web-1.pdf ).
However the involvement of non-white "colonial" participants in the Great War is problematic for BME communities in the United Kingdom (and also the successor states in former imperial and colonial territories).
Let us leave on one side the possible fate of colonial subjects had Germany won the war (although the Herero experience in German South West Africa might indicate the likely course of events).
Let us also leave on one side the issue that the non-white participants in the Great War may not match the non-white people who subsequently came to the United Kingdom post-1945.
The main problem for those arguing that participation by "colonials" in the Great War somehow contributes towards the validity of the United Kingdom's current "vibrantly diverse population" is the motivation of the colonial soldiers themselves.
There were no conscripts among non-white colonials during the Great War, they were all volunteers.
Therefore we must ask why they volunteered.
This broadly divides into two main reasons: they were either mercenaries who saw the British armed forces as a source of secure employment; or they were sincere imperialists who believed in British imperialism and wanted to defend it.
The vague idea that the non-white participants were somehow simply doing the rest of us a favour by joining in the war does not stand up to serious scrutiny.
Both the Mercenary Narrative and the Imperialist Narrative cause problems for the BME communities in the United Kingdom in terms of legacy claims.
If they were mercenaries, then their contribution is obviously devalued. One appreciates (a century later) their efforts but they knew what they were getting into and they were paid for what they did. End of story.
If they were sincere imperialists, sincerely fighting for the British Empire, then this obviously undermines the narrative that colonial populations were enslaved and oppressed and are owed reparations by the British state and that BME people in the United Kingdom today are still oppressed and require affirmative action. And if they were sincere imperialists then their imperialist motivation needs to be recognised and (dare I say it) celebrated. We need a memorial to the BME imperialists - I would subscribe financially to this.
As Gary Younge is fond of saying: time to own your own history.
Entitled The Last Black Soldier Of World War One!! the theme is the involvement of BME people in the Great War (a subject also referred to by the thinktank British Future in their paper on the commemoration of the Great War http://www.britishfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BRF_Declaration-of-war-report_P2_Web-1.pdf ).
However the involvement of non-white "colonial" participants in the Great War is problematic for BME communities in the United Kingdom (and also the successor states in former imperial and colonial territories).
Let us leave on one side the possible fate of colonial subjects had Germany won the war (although the Herero experience in German South West Africa might indicate the likely course of events).
Let us also leave on one side the issue that the non-white participants in the Great War may not match the non-white people who subsequently came to the United Kingdom post-1945.
The main problem for those arguing that participation by "colonials" in the Great War somehow contributes towards the validity of the United Kingdom's current "vibrantly diverse population" is the motivation of the colonial soldiers themselves.
There were no conscripts among non-white colonials during the Great War, they were all volunteers.
Therefore we must ask why they volunteered.
This broadly divides into two main reasons: they were either mercenaries who saw the British armed forces as a source of secure employment; or they were sincere imperialists who believed in British imperialism and wanted to defend it.
The vague idea that the non-white participants were somehow simply doing the rest of us a favour by joining in the war does not stand up to serious scrutiny.
Both the Mercenary Narrative and the Imperialist Narrative cause problems for the BME communities in the United Kingdom in terms of legacy claims.
If they were mercenaries, then their contribution is obviously devalued. One appreciates (a century later) their efforts but they knew what they were getting into and they were paid for what they did. End of story.
If they were sincere imperialists, sincerely fighting for the British Empire, then this obviously undermines the narrative that colonial populations were enslaved and oppressed and are owed reparations by the British state and that BME people in the United Kingdom today are still oppressed and require affirmative action. And if they were sincere imperialists then their imperialist motivation needs to be recognised and (dare I say it) celebrated. We need a memorial to the BME imperialists - I would subscribe financially to this.
As Gary Younge is fond of saying: time to own your own history.
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